Jane's Journal

Noreen Kitchen  I understand your anxiety and felt the same thing. Even though I used to work in the cardiac cath lab and literally saw hundreds done I was very nervous to be on the other side. I have no memory of my TEE they gave me some drugs just before and I was out. When I had my cath again they gave me something to relax me and what I thought was 10 minutes was actually an hour. The worst part was trying to lay flat for 4 hours after. The fear of the unknown is always worse. Both aren't as bad as you can imagine.

Jeff Kirsch  I am just barely ahead of you in the process but I have had the TEE and cardio cathorization. The tests were not bad at all for me. I dreaded both exams and afterwards wished I had not dwelled so much on them. The teams were great and very supportive. You will be just fine.

Catie B  I too had a lot of fear; had two caths in the 70s! I don't remember the actual cath last year, due to the sedation, but things went smoothly and they used some new sort of plug that allowed me to avoid the hours of lying flat. Much easier than anticipated.

Terrie Hodges  Jane, hi, the heart cath. is probably the Coronary Angiogram...cardiologist inserts a small plastic tube into groin area (femerol artery) as he watches it on a screen ...dye is released so the coronary arteries show up and any blockage is discovered...before valve replacement surgery, they need to know if they must do artery bypass also...took about 30 minutes once doctor started...it was fine..You can watch your heart and arteries on a screen....the question I would address before you have the Coronary Angiogram or the TEE is whether the surgery facility in NY will be able to open and view the results done in FL...if not, you would have to have them repeated in NY probably...this is important ...in my experience, my choice for second opinion, Dr Kevin Accola in Orlando was not able to open and view the CD done at Sarasota Memorial...he sent for a second CD directly from Echo dept in Sarasota...could not open it either...his encryptionist with FL Hospital could not open either CD...So I would not count on another facilty being able to access another's film of a procedure...There should be universal software any facility can open another's work on behalf of a patient!!!! The TEE takes about 30 minutes...I was asked to swallow a cream meant to numb the esophagus and a small plastic brace is put in your mouth...your teeth settle on it...this is the guide for easing the wand with the transducer on the end so that clear images of valves, aneurysms, blood clots can be seen, you are given a short acting conscious sedating drug...so most people don't have a drug hangover from it...this was fine also...good luck with this Jane💚Terrie

Terrie Hodges  Also, Jane, after the Heart Cath, Coronary Angiogram, you lie flat for 4 hours or more, in a recovery unit ,to allow the femerol artery to close up and not bleed

  Heart/cardiac cath's can be done either thru the wrist or groin, the preferred way is thru the wrist but if your arteries are to small the have to go thru the groin. Mine was done thru the wrist but you still have to stick around the hospital for a while but at least you can move around. If your surgery is out of state and your testing is in-state make sure the two cardio's (out of state/ in-state) coordinate how they want the test done. My testing was done locally but the surgery was out of state and there were not any problems with opening, viewing or reading the test.

Cathleen Weed  Hi Jane❤️ That sounds like a good amount of recovery time. Depending on your overall health and physical condition, you should feel pretty good after three months and definitely almost normal at six months. A lot of the healing has to do with the sternum. So going back to teaching in the fall shouldn't be a problem 😊. I recommend signing up for the outpatient cardiac rehab in your area after your heart surgery. They will get you back on track and in good cardio shape before you go back to your job. Your surgeon can refer you to a good program and it should be covered by your insurance. 🌟
Happy Easter!

Clare Auten  I am a teacher too.... elementary special ed in public school system. I was 45 at the time of surgery but was back to work in 10 weeks (could have been sooner but I had some blood pressure issues).

Jane Welp  Hello to another Jane who is a teacher too! Blessings to you because working is the best. I am 67 and am looking forward to my return to work on 5/15 after surgery on 3/14. You can follow a good schedule and be back to work in the fall but watch for symptoms was the best advice I got and so I did! I had not had any until then of course.... I did. I am so glad I didn't ignore the symptoms and went to the ER.